It is spring break for many schools in the area, but that doesn’t mean the sports season goes on hold. The bats of both the Hornets and Lady Hornets had a mid-week matchup before their next series this coming weekend. The Hornets faced off against Missouri Western State University while the Lady Hornets played a doubleheader against Drury.
For the Hornets’ match against the Griffons, they sent out junior Jake Khasaempanth for his first start of the season. He got some early help from the offense as the Hornets got the first two batters on base before senior Noah Steele drove everyone in with a three-run home run to give Khasaempanth a 3-0 lead before stepping on the mound. He would work around two hits in the bottom of the first, but get out of it unscathed.
Senior Cooper Schwindt added another run in the top of the second with a solo shot of his own to make it 4-0. The Griffons got on the board in the bottom of the second, scoring once, and once the inning was over, that was the end of Khasaempanth’s day. It was a bullpen game for the Hornets, and the Griffons welcomed junior Rico Merlo to the game by scoring their second run of the game to make it 4-2.
After a quiet third inning for the Hornet bats, they got back in the saddle in the fourth as freshman Evan Abbott drove in a run on a single, and Steele added another with a groundout to make it 6-2. The Griffons answered with another run in the bottom of the inning to keep putting pressure on the Hornets’ bullpen. Then the fireworks kicked off in the fifth inning for both squads.
In the top of the fifth, the Hornets got the first two batters on base, again, to set up a potential big inning. Freshman Tyler Coffin started the scoring with an RBI fielder’s choice before Abbott drove in two on a double to right field. The Griffons’ turn on offense was a bit different, but with similar results as they opened the inning with a solo home run before the Hornets’ bullpen began to struggle with their pitch command. After drawing a walk, a bunt single, and drawing three more walks, the Griffons made it a 9-6 game.
Both teams went dormant in the sixth inning, and the Hornets stayed dormant in the seventh. On the other hand, the Griffons got going again in the seventh to continue a comeback effort. After two singles opened the inning, the walks came back to bite the Hornets’ pitching staff as they walked three batters in a row, allowing two runs to make it 9-8. Senior Grant Huffman came in to close out the inning, and he would be crucial for the Hornets.
In the rest of the game, the Hornets scored the final run in the ninth off an Abbott sacrifice fly, and Huffman set down the Griffons for his fourth save on the season. It was a 10-8 victory that moved the Hornets to 17-6 on the season, and next, they will have a series against New Mexico Highlands starting on March 20.
For the Lady Hornets, they started their doubleheader by sending out junior Izzy Sloan to the circle for game one. The start of the game saw both teams mimic each other as they traded zeros in the first inning before freshman Addison Callaway opened the scoring with a solo home run, only to be answered by Drury in the bottom of the second.
The third inning then became the early dagger for the Lady Hornets as the Panthers drove in four runs to take a 5-1 lead. Sloan would settle into the game and keep the Lady Hornets in it, and the offense mounted a comeback effort. In the top of the fourth inning, sophomore Brynley Smith smacked a solo home run, and junior Ally Miller drove in another run to make it a 5-3 game. The Lady Hornets tacked on another run later in the sixth inning, but it was not enough to overcome the four-run third inning from the Panthers as they fell 5-4 in the matinee matchup.
For the nightcap, the Lady Hornets sent junior Morgan Tomlinson to the circle. After clean first innings from both starters, the Lady Hornets decided to finish the game early with nine runs combined in the second and third innings. The second saw junior Elina Bartlett walk in a run, sophomore Sydney Wagner drive in two on a single, and senior Taryn Burkhardt single in the fourth run. In the third, junior Avery Brewer hit a two-run home run, senior Leslie Ramos drove in another through a sacrifice fly, Wagner added another RBI with a double, and finally Burkhardt drove in the final run of the inning with another single.
With a 9-0 lead, the Panthers could not mount the comeback effort and only scored thrice in the game for the Lady Hornets to split the series with a 10-3 victory in the nightcap. With the doubleheader concluded, they moved to 17-8 on the season. Next up for the Lady Hornets is a return to MIAA play as they travel down to Wichita to face Newman in a doubleheader on March 21.